Too Late
by x6bakablack9x
Summary: Its sad how fate grips its icy hands on unexpecting people. How death confronts a tired soul. How love can drive people to do crazy things.


**Well this story just came to me one night and i just decided to write it. Hope you like it!**

Rangers POV

I never thought I would regret anything as much as I regretted this. Standing in her empty apartment, listening to Rex running in his wheel. The quiet consumed me as I took one small step which brought back many memories. I just cant believe... cant believe she's gone. The beautiful voice I could always hear, the sparkling eyes I could always see, the smooth skin I could always feel, it was now gone.

Its sad how fate grips its icy hands on unexpecting people. How death confronts a tired soul. How love can drive people to do crazy things.

Her stuff laid in her apartment as if she had never left. Clothes from days previous to the event sprayed across the floor. Make-up and hair products scattered on the bathroom sink, never to be used by her again.

I still remember that day, the memory still fresh in my head. How she had called to ask if she could come over to Rangeman to get away. How I got the tormenting phone call.

_Flashback_

_I sat silently in my apartment waiting for her to come. Her voice had been trembling on the phone. She said she just needed someone to talk to. Get her mind cleared on how Morelli wasn't what was best for her. She should have been here by now. Waiting tied my stomach in knots. I had decided tonight was the night I was going to tell her how I truly felt about her._

_I nearly jumped when my phone went off in my pocket. The screen read Tank._

"_Yo." Crying and sniffling could only be heard on the other end. "Tank?"_

"_I-Im so sorry Ranger. She's gone."_

_I started to panic. What did he mean she's gone? "What do you mean she's gone?"_

_There was a moment of silence as Tank gathered enough strength to talk. "As she was heading over Bomber got hit head on by a drunk driver. Apparently her head hit the steering wheel with enough force to break her neck. She's being taken over to St. Frances Hospital by an ambulance right now to be cleaned up. Im sorry... wonder women's gone."_

_At that moment my whole life stopped. This had to be a joke. At any moment she would come threw my apartment door laughing about how she fooled me._

_I closed the phone and starred at the door. She had to come. She just had to. I was going to tell her that I loved her. Not in my own special way. In a way that did call for a ring if it came to it. She just had to come._

_End Flashback_

As I walked down the hallway I heard a sound of glass breaking coming from the bedroom. I quickly withdrew my gun and slowly made my way down.

I scanned the room and everything seemed to be untouched except for a broken picture frame. Face down on the ground beside her bed.

I hesitantly bent down to pick it up. Not knowing what the picture frame held. I slowly turned the wooden frame around and to my surprise the picture was of me and her. I sat down on the bed, not trusting my legs at this moment. She was sitting down sideways on my lap in Pino's. Her blue eyes sparkling and a smile on her face as she was looking at me. I too had a smile on my face, my eyes glued on her.

I remember that day almost as clearly as the night she died.

_Flashback_

_I sat driving in one of Rangeman's black SUV's on my way back to my apartment. A long day of catching skips and I was awaiting to be able to finally relax._

_I was in my "zone" when my phone started to vibrate. Usually people only call me about business and right now only one person could stop me from getting some sleep._

"_Yo."_

"_Yo yourself." Three was a moment of silence from the other end._

"_Was there a reason you called?"_

"_Yeah, well, I kind of blew up another car and I was wondering if you could come pick me up." This put one of my rare smiles on my face. It had been a few months sense the last time she exploded a car. She was well about due._

"_Where are you?"_

"_Pino's."_

"_I'll be there in ten." Leave it to Steph to think about food after she blows up another car._

_Ten minutes later I parked outside Pino's and headed in. A few people starred at me as I walked in but nothing I wasn't used too. I spotted my Babe sitting in the back both. Leaving the seat open that was against the wall facing the door. On the table laid a box of pizza, and two bottles of Corona._

"_Was there anyone in your car this time?" I asked sitting down with my back prompted up against the wall._

"_No, I was about to enter my car at the bonds office when Lula yelled to me to come back in and help look for a bug Vinnie planted on Connie's desk. As I was a few feet away from the office when it exploded."_

"_It was on a timer." I stated rather then questioned. She slightly nodded her head. "You need to be more aware of your surroundings Babe. If it wasn't for Vinnie being the pervert that he is you probably wouldn't be here right now." I accidently let my blank face slip_, _hurt and pain were etched across my face._

_Stephanie obviously noticed because she reached her hands across the table and held mine. "It'll take a lot more then a bomb to get rid of me Ranger."_

_With one swift movement I pulled her out of her chair and onto my lap. I gently pressed my lips against hers into a slow, deep kiss._

_As we pulled apart a smile danced across her face, as did mine. There was a flash of light and when we turned around we saw Bobby, Tank, and Lester. They all had wide smiles on there faces and Lester was holding a camera._

"_How long have you guys been standing there?" I asked annoyingly._

"_Just long enough to see you two making out and to grab a camera." bobby replied with a smile._

_Stephanie's face was bright red as she slowly got off my lap and moved to her own chair._

"_So... do you guys need help eating that pizza?" Lester asked as he eyed it. He looked like Bob when someone pulled a box of pizza near him._

"_Yes you can have some." Steph replied with a chuckle opening the box, letting the smell escape into our noses._

_End Flashback_

I slowly took the picture out of the broken frame. As I got a closer look there were indents coming from the other side.

There was a note on the blank side written in black ink. It seemed to be a note for herself.

_Something I can never have. The think I thought was love just happened to be lust._

This was the first time since I heard what had happened that I actually started to cry. I tried to tell her I loved her on several occasions but I only put my words into actions. I never wanted her just for lust. She deserved much better than that.

I got up and left the apartment, taking the picture with me. The funeral was going to start in a round an hour and I needed to change into something other then my work clothes.

The drive took what seemed like forever until I finally parked my porsche in the Rangeman garage. I took the elevator to the fourth floor and entered the now silent hallway. Only two people were left in the control room. Everyone else was probably getting ready.

Her cubicle was filled with bouquets of flowers of various kinds from different employees, including myself. I would have these transported to the grave site later.

I got a status report from the control room before heading to my seventh floor apartment. It now seemed quiet, dark, empty. Lately I've been finding some miscellaneous stuff that had once belonged to Steph. Rangeman uniforms, make-up, keys. It was like she actually lived here in some way.

I left Rangeman wearing black dress pants, a black button down polo shirt and casual shoes. Tank rode with me in the passenger seat. He knew me better than anyone else and left me to my own thoughts.

The sky darkened as we entered the graveyard and joined everyone else. It looked as if all of Trenton had come to the funeral. Ellen, Frank, Grandma Mazur, Valerie and her kids, Albert, Morelli and his family, past FTA's, Mooner, Dougie, Sally Sweat, Lula, Connie, even Vinnie showed up. There were also people that I didn't know but saw them on occasions walking down the street.

Her brown casket was covered with flowers. There were even flowers covering the ground around it.

The priest finished talking and everyone went to other people for comfort and to talk. Lula ran over to Tank and clung to him tightly, both letting there tears fall freely. I walked over to Morelli.

"Hey."

"Hey." he replied sadly.

"How're you handling this?"

He sighed. "Im just having trouble excepting the fact that she's actually gone. She didn't even die from what I had always been trying to protect her from. N one could have protected her from this." The tears he had stopped crying came back again. "If I knew it was going to end this way I could have avoided so many fights, so many times that she left."

I patted him on the shoulder trying to comfort him. "She always knew you were only trying to protect her. She only acted with her temper. Just, try not to remember what you did wrong but what you did right."

Morelli slowly lifted his head to face me. "Not something you would expect to hear from you."

"Yeah I have my moments. Take care of yourself."

"You too." with that said he left with the rest of the people who were now departing the graveyard.

Tank, Lester, Bobby, Hal, and me where the only ones left when I decided to walk over towards the gravestone.

Stephanie Plum

1974-2007

Beloved daughter and friend

Tears streamed down my face as I fell to my knees and placed the picture I had taken from her apartment earlier. I had it in a new wooden frame with the word Babe etched in the bottom. I brushed my fingers across her name before walking over towards my car.

All I could think about was what was now written on the picture along with her note.

_It was something we could have had but I was too afraid to try. I never meant for you to take my actions as lust. I love you with all my heart but I guess its now to late._

**I know depressing but thats how i role! wow that was lame, oh well! please review!**


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